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Indexing: Theory and Application

X477 (3 semester units in Journalism)

Recipient of the 2005 Distance Learning "Community of Practice" Course Award from the University Continuing Education Association (UCEA)

A good index greatly enhances the usability and value of a book or article, yet few writers and editors are versed in the construction of this vital part of a nonfiction publication. In this course, you learn the fundamentals of writing, editing, and delivering back-of-the-book indexes to publishing clients. You also learn the basic format, guidelines, and term selection approaches of embedded and Web indexing, using three major indexing software programs to complete several of your assignments.

Prerequisites: Strong language, reading, computer, and Internet skills. A PC running the Windows OS is highly recommended.

Students enrolled in this course must obtain CDs of the student versions of three indexing software programs: CINDEX, MACREX, and SKY. Students must use all three programs for three short exercises in the first half of the course. (Afterwards, students may choose one of the programs to complete the rest of the assignments.) Of the three programs, only CINDEX provides a version that works on the Macintosh OS. However, students using the Macintosh OS can successfully complete the course in one of two ways: (1) their Macintosh computers must have software such as Parallels Desktop for Mac or Microsoft Virtual PC to run Windows-compatible software, or (2) they must have access to a PC to complete the first three exercises in the course.

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Online, Enroll anytime

Online, Enroll anytime

VICTORIA AGEE, M.L.S., is director of Agee Indexing Services in Houston, Texas. She has worked for public, university, and special libraries, and has had cataloging and indexing contracts with the Congressional Research Service, the National Agricultural Library, the National Library of Medicine, and the Smithsonian Institution. She has more than 35 years of experience working with libraries and the publishing world on indexing and knowledge management projects. In 1979, she established Agee Indexing Services and has been providing back-of-the-book, database, and periodical indexing services for corporate, trade, and university publishers from coast to coast.

Agee holds an M.L.S. degree from the University of California at Los Angeles. She graduated with honors and is a member of the Beta Phi Mu Society. She has presented workshops on indexing throughout the United States. She is an active member of the Special Libraries Association, the American Medical Writers Association, and the American Society of Indexers (ASI). As co-chair of Chapter Relations for ASI she edited the ANetworking Notebook@ column in KeyWords for several years. She has served on the ASI--H.W. Wilson Award Committee to help improve the quality of indexing and also served as chair of the Ted Hines Award Committee, an award given for distinguished service to a member of the American Society of Indexers.

She lives in Houston with her husband Jack Agee, who is a research physicist working with nanoscience research at Rice University, and with Hubert, her cat. She has a son and daughter-in-law, Forrest and Erin Agee, in Albuquerque, N.M., who are teachers of English and a daughter and son-in-law, Amber and Stan Tobiason, who are working for newspapers in Portland and Salem, Ore.

NOTE: This section is temporarily closed. Please notify me when this section opens.

Online course: Internet access required
Enroll anytime: You have 6 months to complete
$630 (EDP 897355)

Note: Another online section of this course is open to enrollment; please click on its section link to enroll online or enter EDP 877811.